Updated: Crews hope to clear tipped trailer by morning

A disabled semi-trailer truck was causing a lengthy backup on Interstate 90/39 going south past Janesville on Thursday afternoon, according to the Wisconsin State Patrol.

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JANESVILLE--Authorities were hoping to have a semitrailer truck cleared by Friday morning’s commute after it shut down Interstate 90/39 on Thursday afternoon, Janesville Fire Shift Commander Bill Ruchti said. The semitrailer truck driver pulled onto the southbound shoulder about a one mile north of the Racine Street interchange because he thought he was having mechanical problems, Ruchti said. The driver disconnected the semitrailer tractor from the trailer, but one of the two jacks holding the trailer up sunk into the shoulder, and the trailer tipped over on its side, he said. The trailer contained 41,500 pounds of disinfectant solutions used in the food industry, packed in 55-gallon drums and 1-gallon containers, he said. It didn’t appear that the chemicals had leaked, he said.The incident backed traffic up for miles, but authorities allowed traffic through during the evening rush hour before closing one lane again in the evening for clean up, he said. Crews were working overnight to unload the trailer and hopefully have the site cleared by morning, he said.